The American Responsibility to Cut the UAE’s Involvement in Sudan

The civil war in Sudan may be the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. Since the outbreak of fighting between the country’s Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in 2023, 400,000 people have lost their lives, 11 million are displaced, and 30 million are in need of humanitarian assistance. Until recently, the story was framed as an internal power struggle, yet in reality, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has played a large role in aiding the RSF militarily and financially. Now, the world is waking up, but in order to truly fracture the link between the UAE and the war in Sudan, the mechanisms through which the UAE operates must be cut first.

The loyalty between the UAE and the RSF runs deep. Throughout the UAE’s intervention in the Yemeni Civil War, the Sudanese government under Omar al-Bashir sent troops to help the UAE fight in the southern region of the country. At the time, al-Bashir’s security apparatus involved both the RSF and SAF, but the RSF, led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, or Hemedti, went further in assisting the UAE’s military efforts by forging a separate deal to send extra troops to the UAE. It seems that the UAE has not forgotten Hemedi’s contributions to its war effort. Another reason why the UAE assists the RSF is gold. Hemedti has used the RSF to control gold mines, smuggling $16bn worth of gold per year and exporting it to the UAE. 

Both due to historical loyalty and the gold trade, the UAE has chosen to bolster the RSF military. The UAE funnels weapons and finances the RSF’s war effort, which gives the RSF more power to fight and fewer reasons to lay down arms. As long as the UAE fuels the RSF’s fighting, the war in Sudan is unlikely to end.

Although the U.S. does not directly support the RSF, it is still slightly responsible for the RSF’s fighting because of its recent support for the UAE. The U.S. supplies arms, assists high-tech industries, and ignores alternative diplomatic routes that exclude the UAE from conflict resolution.

The U.S. should decouple from the UAE as long as the UAE’s support for the RSF is unwavering. Since the U.S. is critical to the UAE’s security, industrial, and diplomatic goals in the status quo, the U.S. can leverage its support for the UAE.  The U.S. exercising its power would render U.S. leverage more credible, giving the U.S. the opportunity to influence the UAE’s calculus. Between 2017 and 2025, the U.S. sold $8.82bn worth of arms to the UAE, which include F-35 fighter jets and drones. This is a source of the UAE’s power, and thus, it can be used as a source of leverage. Furthermore, while American weapons may not end up in Sudan, blocking shipments would hurt the UAE’s ability to support the RSF. Primarily, the UAE funnels Chinese weapons into Sudan, so cutting off a major source of the UAE’s military power could incentivize the UAE to hold onto Chinese weapons. 

To further a strategy of leveraging the UAE’s dependencies, the U.S. can threaten to pull back sales of Nvidia Blackwell chips to the UAE, central to the UAE’s strategy to expand AI data center build-out. The UAE seeks economic stability, and if the U.S. jeopardizes the UAE’s AI future, it puts the country’s economic future into question as well.

Finally, the U.S. should pursue other diplomatic channels. Currently, the U.S. is using the Sudan Quad to resolve conflict in Sudan, which consists of the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and the U.S. Although Saudi Arabia actually favors the SAF in the conflict, their concern about the outcome of the war is significantly less stark than the UAE’s. Thus, the UAE’s voice in the bloc is loud. The Sudan Quad’s proposals to end the war have favored the RSF in recent months. If the U.S. branches out to actors such as the African Union or the United Nations, it would eliminate the pro-RSF bias in conflict resolution, a development feared by the UAE.

The UAE’s role in the Sudanese Civil War should horrify the world. The U.S. is in a uniquely powerful position to cut the UAE’s links with the RSF, and the government should swiftly take steps that achieve that for the millions whose lives depend on it.

Read more here:

• Patrick Smith, The Africa Report

• Allie Hansen and Ari Tolany, Center for International Policy

• Alan Boswell, International Crisis Group

Extemp Analysis by Finian Knepper

Question: How can the US pressure the UAE to end the war in Sudan? 

AGD: I recommend taking a more narrative and emotional AGD stance here - especially if you plan on going in depth with the real human impact this situation causes. 

BG: The involvement of the UAE in Sudan is incredibly complicated, and entails everything from gold to oil to pure political influence. Breaking these down is a must, but be sure to not get too complicated, as doing so may take away from the real points you make and unnecessarily confuse your judge. 

Thesis: By focusing on the reasons the UAE is involved.

1. By usurping the gold trade

2. By shorting the price of oil

3. By instigating political pressure upon the UAE.

Substructure: For this question, I recommend the use of descriptive substructure. I suggest cause/effect. Take a look at the current causes of the UAE’s involvement in Sudan - with particular attention given to political pressure points that the US can use to help end the UAE’s involvement. Then move on to the effects of using these points, before finally diving into the impacts - for all 3 nations if you desire.